26 Saturday Dec 2009
Posted in Bread, Celebrations, Dessert, Food, Holiday Menu, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, Wine and Food
“The Day” has come and essentially gone. Long day. Awesome time. Good dinner. What else can I say. Oh yes, Thank-You to all who made this day so great: Robin, Marnie, Mac, Chris, Mattie and Buddy and Gus. Here are your photos (don’t miss the photos of the food!)!
23 Wednesday Dec 2009
And with that said, here are the recipes for two of the dishes we are having for Christmas Dinner. First is a Wine Marinated Stuffed Leg of Lamb and the second is an awesome Bob’s Peppermint Pie that refers to the brand of peppermint candy, not me! Those two links are for a version of the recipe that we have on our web site. If you want to print them out, that is probably the best way. The photograph was taken this afternoon from 19th Street in Boise, looking 15 miles NNE to the ski area and 3500 feet higher. The snows were just outstanding.
Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: http://www.rockinrs.com
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Oven Temperature: 375°F
Ingredients:
750 ml Dry Red Wine
¾ t Allspice, ground
¾ t Nutmeg, ground
4½ lbs Leg of Lamb, boned
1 Bay Leaf
1/3 c Pine Nuts
½ lbs Mushrooms, rinsed
2 T Butter
½ c Onions, finely chopped
½ c Sweet Red Pepper, finely diced
1/3 c Pitted Dates, finely Chopped
2 T Chives, minced
2 T Parsley, minced
1½ c Beef stock
1 T Sugar
Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste
Directions:
1). In an 11×17″ roasting pan, combine the wine, allspice, nutmeg and bay leaf.
2). Trim excess fat from lamb. Rinse meat and lay flat, boned side up. Make cuts about halfway through all the thickest parts of the meat. Push cuts open to make meat as evenly thick as possible. Lay lamb flat in the pan. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, turning meat as needed.
3). In a 10 – 12 inch frying pan over med-high heat, stir in pine nuts until golden brown, 3 – 4 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
4). Trim mushrooms and finely chop. Add the mushrooms, butter, onion and red pepper to the frying pan. Stir often over high heat until vegetables are well browned, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, dates, chives and parsley.
5). Lift lamb from roasting pan and lay flat; boned side up. Reserve 1½ cups marinade; discard the rest of the marinade and the bay leaf. Spread the mushroom mixture over the lamb to within 1″ of the edges. Starting at the narrow edge, roll the lamb into a tight roll, about 5 x 11″. Tie at 2″ intervals with bakers string. Set in roasting pan.
6). Bake lamb in a 375°F oven until a thermometer inserted in the center of the thickest part reaches 145°F, 1¼ to 1½ hours.
7). Transfer lamb to a rimmed platter and keeping warm, let rest for 10 minutes. Add the reserved marinade, beef stock and sugar to the pan. Stir over high heat, scraping the browned bits (grameels) until reduced to 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Add the accumulated lamb juices and pour into a bowl.
8). Cut lamb crosswise into 1″ thick slices. Serve with the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 10 hours
Bob’s Peppermint Pie
Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: http://boisefoodieguild.blogspot.com
Author Notes: This pie has nothing to do with me. It derives its name from the brand of peppermint candy, “Bob’s”.
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
1 env Plain Gelatin
¼ c Cold Water
½ c Whipping cream, plus 1½ cups whipping cream whipped
8 oz Peppermint candy, soft type (Bob’s)
1 Pie Crust, chocolate cookie crust
Directions:
1). Soften gelatin in water and set aside.
2). Place ½ cup whipping cream in a small saucepan with candy and cook over low heat until candy melts.
3). Add gelatin and mix well. Let cool and fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the pie shell and let cool.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes
Find some good wine to go with dinner. We’re having a NV Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparkling Wine, the White House Wine ($25.00) and a 1969 Clos de Hermitage E. Guigal, a French Rhone wine ($140.00). Then for the dessert wine a 1979 Chateau Suduiraut ($65.00). So there you have the recipes for two of our dishes for Christmas Day. The rest of the menu has been posted earlier on this blog or on the Boise Foodie Blog. Cheers and have a Great Christmas Dinner!
22 Tuesday Dec 2009
Posted in Classic Sauces, Classics, Food, Recipes, Things To Do
I just received this from Jeannette Aslanian in Gainsville, FL.
1 cup mayo
2 Tablespoons buttermilk (or whole milk)
1 Tablespoon crumbled bleu cheese
a pinch of pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
Mix all in small bowl until smooth (by hand)
Cover and chill for 1 hour
Makes 1 cup of a thick, creamy dressing. I think I may have added a bit more bleu cheese when I made it. You can taste it after it has had a chance to chill and see what you think.
Happy Holidays!!!!”
Thanks Jeannette for submitting this Bleu Cheese Dressing recipe. She says it is a lot like the Outback Steakhouse dressing. Cheers!
13 Sunday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Side Dishes, Things To Do
There comes a time in the life of everyone, when you absolutely must eat something that may not be particularly beneficial to your health. Scrapple and Eggs on a cold, snowy Sunday morning fits that equation. Here are some photos for a “virtual” breakfast. Cheers!
Start by slicing and frying the scrapple. If you’re lucky, it won’t fall apart. Mine did!
Scramble some eggs in the pan, picking up all of the “broken” scrapple. Serve plain, with maple syrup (the Philadelphia way) or with ketchup.
So there you have a real traditional Philadelphia, PA area breakfast or even on a sandwich. You can get scrapple by ordering over the Internet. We do. Cheers!
13 Sunday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Oils, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do
Well, if nothing else, the snow makes for a nice photographic tapestry. Snow has stopped for a while and the temperature is rising. It’s up to 22 now. But that will be about it for a “high”. So, guess we’ll make dinner. And it really was a goooood one!
Carrot Salad with Italian Truffle Oil Dressing
Steamed Tarragon Infused Cauliflower
Jansson’s Temptation
2004 Bitner Vineyards Reserve Idaho Cabernet Sauvignon.
The recipe for the Jansson’s Temptation (actually much like escalloped potatoes but with no cheese) can be found on this blog. And I like these much better than the traditional escalloped potatoes – better flavors! So that’s what Robin and I do on a cold, snowy night. What do you do? Cheers!
12 Saturday Dec 2009
Posted in Dessert, Food, Food Prep, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young
I just made some. They are really very, very good! But, you have to like peanut butter! Jerri, The Pie Lady, you will like these and Merideth and Roger, too!
Recipe created by Carolyn Gurtz, winner of the 2008 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest
It’s a twist on the classic peanut butter cookie! Crunchy outside, creamy inside, with just a hint of cinnamon. A real winner.
Yield: 24 cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Fisher dry-roasted peanuts , finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 roll (16.5 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies , well chilled
Crisco original no-stick cooking spray
Directions:
Heat oven to 375°.
In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 balls, about 1 inch each.
Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with Crisco original no-stick cooking spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.
When I made these, I also added 1 roasted almond to the top. A chocolate chip would be good also. (Chocolate is great in almost anything!) Do enjoy these. Cheers!
11 Friday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants
I recently read Greg Hahn’s restaurant review, Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone eclipses tropical tiki fare in the Idaho Statesman, and like some other commentors, I really must take exception to the article. I totally agree with Michael Boss, Behind The Menu, where he states
I’ve been to Sweetwater’s a number of times now, and I do have to take exception with Greg’s observation that the menu prices are on the high side for lunch. Let’s be clear: this is not a local burger joint. Having done some interviews with Sue and Joe for Behind the Menu, I have to agree that they’re raising the bar on product sourcing…and let’s face it, you gets what you pays for.
Interesting. That’s the second time this week that I have heard people being told that if you want fast food, go to McDonalds or Burger King. (Don’t get me wrong, both of those establishments have their place.)
And from DDTDaughter, another commentor on the article:
Sweetwater’s quality, taste and portions more than make up for the comment “relatively expensive for Boise”. Plus the fact that they are using local, humanely grown and sustainable ingredients from meat to eggs and they have the freshest American caught seafood and offer exceptional vegetarian dishes on their menu, goes to show they care. Not a fast food chain, where you pay a lot more for unhealthy menu items.
I have a difficult time rationalizing why a reviewer would pan a restaurant for charging high prices when the critic, Greg Hahn this time, makes statements like,
The “tropical” restaurant – heavy on Caribbean with some south Asian flair and a few detours around the equator – replaced Milky Way Downtown and arrived with a pedigree: owners Sue and Joe Zimmerman ran the Sweetwater Jam House in Portland for almost nine years. And you can tell – the food and the feel of the place already is sophisticated and cohesive.
Sorry, but I just don’t agree with Mr Hahn on his criticism where he states, “… And as you maybe have figured out from the prices I’ve listed, Sweetwater’s is a relatively expensive restaurant for Boise, and that’s even more pronounced at lunch.” We have eaten at Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone three times now and we will return. The quality, style and flavors are what I go to a restaurant for and Sweetwater’s Tropic Zone definitely comes through and shines. I don’t mind paying a little more for quality and it’s the quality that counts. Did you ever eat at Andrae’s here in Boise before it left after many years and spend $500.00 for a dinner for 5? I think that Mr Hahn misleads the reader and the public in his article. Please do read it as linked above. That’s my “Two Cents”. Cheers!
09 Wednesday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Things To Do, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wine Tasting
All I can say, if you have never been to one of these Wine Dinners, you are missing a huge part of the wine experience in Idaho!! The wines we tried, from lowest ranked to highest (0-20), were:
The dinner selections, and Debbie did another outstanding job with finding, preparing and then matching the courses, were:
This was an exciting evening and I really do hope that you plan to attend the next dinners. At $15.00 per person – yes the prices are going up in January – you can’t beat this Night Out! Contact “The Buzz” for more information. Look in the Sidebar for their logo and click for more information. Cheers!
06 Sunday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Interesting Information, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Vinegars
The graphic at the right is one that Robin did several years ago. “Rabbits Making Wine“, (C) 1988. The original used to hang at the now non-existent BB Strand, 4th and Bannock, Boise, and the artwork is now in the possession of Chef John Mortimer.
I have had some questions on how to make vinegar. And in particular, wine vinegar. We have a jug of red wine vinegar going that has been around for several years. We are now making some white wine vinegar that will be tarragon infused. Remember one thing: After you decide what you want to make, you have several decisions on how to get there. Do I want white vinegar? Or red? Infused with some herb? Or plain? Here’s some help.
1). 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar,
Unpasteurized (Not Cooked) and Unfiltered. That is the important thing – Unpasteurized and Unfiltered! I am using “Spectrum” Organic and I probably got it at the COOP. “Three Monks” is another good brand if you can find the unpasteurized.
2). 1 cup White Wine, for White Wine Vinegar, or Red Wine, for Red Wine Vinegar or Sherry for Sherry Vinegar.
Put a stopper of some sort in the top, but not tight – you want some air to get in, but not dust. Put it somewhere, it doesn’t have to be dark. Let set and forget it for two or three weeks. Try it and see if it is what you are looking for. If not, let it go longer. (Mine has been going for 5 weeks now.) When it is ready, find a 1 gallon jug, it can be plastic or glass, and pour the starter in. Add 750 ml wine. Let sit. Try it. Keep adding your “left-over” wine to it and it should go for quite a while – years.
You can use the 1 gallon of vinegar at any time. But, try to get the jug full. The longer it “cures” the sweeter it will be and the more mellow it will become. It’s trial and error now. But this will at least get you started. And think about this. If you want a Balsamic Style Vinegar, get a small, 1 gallon or so, oak wine barrel. Place your vinegar in the barrel and set it aside for several years. That’s all there is to it!
Use any wine you want. Try to keep the jug either all red or all white. Start two jugs if you have to. However, it can be mixed too. That is red and white wine together. I have 2 jugs going. The Red is a blend of any wine we had left over and has been going for years. The white is only white and I hope to keep it that way.
Try using left-over Sherry to make your vinegar, especially if you use a lot of Sherry in cooking, or you eat a lot of Turtle Soup. (My Dad used to order Turtle Soup, drink the Sherry. Tell the Waitress that he did not get any Sherry. She would bring him another. He would drink this one ….Do you see where this is going?) Commerical Sherry Vinegar tends to be extremely salty. Making your own, you can control this.
Cheers and enjoy making your vinegar!!!
03 Thursday Dec 2009
Posted in Food, Lamb, Local Markets
I really do love it when a supplier of products follows this blog and then submits some very pertinent information. Such is the case with an email I received today from Cheryl Bennett from Lava Lake Ranch outside of Sun Valley, Idaho. Here is what she said. Thanks, Cheryl!!
I believe I have shared a glass of wine with Robin somewhere along the way….it may have even been a plane seat and we talked about dancing or something….the dust collects in parts of my brain and I can’t remember. I must say, your blog has grown a lot since the three or four years ago that I met Robin. We will start following you and we have started blogging and tweeting too (who would have thought that). Just as a reminder:
Lava Lake Ranch is an artisanal producer of 100 percent grass-fed certified organic lamb. The lamb is sustainably raised on a family-owned ranch in the Pioneer Mountains, near Sun Valley, Idaho. Dedicated to the proposition that what we eat matters, we raise our lambs sustainably, humanely, without antibiotics or growth hormones, and never place them in feed lots. The lambs graze only on the ranch’s certified organic range and drink mother’s milk. Their diverse diet of lush, fragrant range grasses and herbs makes our lamb tender, delectable, and highly nutritious.
Another part of the story that sets our ranch apart from others, is that all profits from the sale of Lava Lake Lamb help fund vital land and habitat conservation efforts over nearly a million acres in south-central Idaho. This is land conservation on a huge scale and just within this year, we’ve been rewarded with three national awards to honor our efforts: the Cecil D. Andrus Leadership Award for Sustainability and Conservation, the US Forest Service’s National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rangeland Management, and the Bureau of Land Managements Rangeland Stewardship Award. We’re working on a number of conservation projects – everything from restoring wetlands to living with wolves through innovative predator avoidance techniques. You can read more about those efforts on the website and on our scientific research website.
We have entered the newest frontier in social networking and now have a blog, Lava Lake At WordPress, are Tweeting at Lava Lake and are on FaceBook. We encourage you to join up, start doing the same, and start widening the net of followers.
Susan, thanks for the kind words….you flatter me!!
Cheryl L. Bennett
Sales Manager
Lava Lake Land & Livestock
PO Box 2249
Hailey, ID 83333
208-788-1710 (office)
208-720-9058 (mobile)
208-788-1264 (fax)
EMail Cheryl
Lava Lake Web Page
“The mission of Lava Lake is to effect the restoration and long-term conservation of native ecosystems at a landscape scale and to build an economically viable and environmentally sound business.“
There is some great information on local Idaho lamb! And as I said before, I really do like the follow-up that Lava Lake Ranch gave us. Let’s support them and their products. Cheers!
Boise Foodie Guild 